In manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuits, a measuring instrument for measuring electric characteristics of semiconductor integrated circuits fabricated on a wafer is used. To perform electric measurement with this measuring instrument, a probe is brought in contact with an electrode pad or an electrode terminal formed on the wafer to establish electrical connection between the probe and the electrode pad or electrode terminal.
A coil spring probe is typically used as the probe of this type. The coil spring probe includes a coil spring provided in a cylindrical portion and one end of the coil spring corresponds to a contact terminal of the probe. The end (the contact terminal) of the coil spring in the coil spring probe is brought in contact with the electrode pad or electrode terminal fabricated on the wafer. The other end of the coil spring in the coil spring probe is electrically connected to the measuring instrument. In the coil spring probe, the coil spring is provided in the cylindrical portion thereof, and the contact terminal of the probe can be residually contracted or expanded to ensure the electrical connection between the probe and the electrode pad or electrode terminal fabricated on the wafer.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-024664 discloses a coil spring probe of the above type. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-071699 discloses a coil spring probe of the above type.
The coil spring probe according to the related art generally has a structure including the contact terminal, the coil spring, and the cylindrical portion. Usually, these components of the coil spring probe are individually produced as separate components and assembled together, thereby manufacturing the coil spring probe. For this reason, the manufacturing processes are complicated, which may increase the manufacturing time and cost.